Roper Technologies forecasts Q3 profit below estimates on weak enterprise spend

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(Reuters) – Software firm Roper Technologies forecast third-quarter profit below estimates on Wednesday, owing to weak spending and delayed contract renewals by its target industries.

An uncertain economy and high borrowing costs are forcing businesses to spend cautiously, delaying contract signing and renewals by clients and impacting firms such as Roper.

Shares of the Sarasota, Florida-based company fell 8.1% and were on track for its worst day in four years.

The company forecast third-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $4.50 to $4.54, the mid-point of which was below analysts’ average estimate of $4.63 per share, according to LSEG data.

Roper runs businesses that design and develop vertical software and technology-enabled products for a variety of markets, including healthcare, law and data analytics.

It operates in three segments – application software, network software and the technology-enabled products segment. All its segments reported revenue below analysts’ average estimates.

Revenue from the application software business, Roper’s biggest, was $931.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, below analysts’ estimate of $933.6 million.

The company reported revenue of $1.72 billion in the second quarter, missing analysts’ average estimate of $1.73 billion.

It also reported an adjusted profit of $4.48 per share, missing an estimate of $4.46 per share.

However, hoping for a recovery in demand for enterprise software, the company updated the lower end of its full-year adjusted diluted earnings-per-share forecast for 2024 to between $18.10 and $18.25, compared to the previous forecast of $18.05 to $18.25.

(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)